January 31, 2010

Last year Kassie and I started the tradition of eating Dad's favorite meal on his birthday. Even though I was here with kids who don't eat this stuff (and normally I don't either to be honest) I dusted off the deep fryer and made some good ole artery clogging deep fried fish and home fries. I even found a recipe for a knock-off of A&W Onion Rings. Today he would have been 57.

This is what I have to look forward to

Late last week I went to pick up Colby from school like I always do and he wasn' there. I assumed he got in the bus with his friends and went on home. When I got there, the bus came and went, but no Colby. I called the school to find out what was going on and was told that Colby was staying afterschool. Normally this doesn't bother me, because there is a lot going on after schools that he participates in (skiing club on Tuesdays, soccer etc) so when he walked in the door after getting off the late bus I asked him what he stayed for.

"Oh, a bunch of us stayed for math help".

My first thought was, "good for him, staying for extra help" when it SHOULD have been "Wait a minute, this kid is a whiz at math and is normally ahead of his class". So.... you see where this is going, right??

The next day I get a call from Rob at work, who is laughing. He was talking to the teacher who kept Colby after class FOR DETENTION the day before. It seems Mr. Chatterbox wouldn't shut up when he was asked, and him and a bunch of his friends were kept after school for it. So, me being me, had a bit of fun when Colby came home.

As Colby is walking through the door

"So bud, I forgot to ask, what was the math help yesterday for?"

Him, without missing a beat "The work we did that day. I didn't finish it so I stayed."

Me: "Colby, are you sure at this point you don't want to change your story?"

Him: "No, why?" (At this point he's starting to sweat a little bit)

Me: Colby, you know I'm a teacher right? You KNOW teachers talk and tell each other things, right?"

Him sheepishly: "You know, don't you Mom?"

The best part is the punishment for this. He assumed that he would lose his electronic privledges. OH NO. I told him he had to write a page on what really happened, why it's bad to lie, and what will happen if he lies again. I'm gonna frame it.

How I spent my Saturday

Couldn't you just eat her??

Get comfy, this may be a long one

I have been really stressed over the last couple of weeks, for details that I'm not willing to share in a public forum like this. But let me just say, my faith in humanity and in myself has been restored.

With that being said, I have a story I'd like to share with you all about why I feel we were meant to be here. So get comfy, get a snack and maybe a tissue or two, if you're anything like me you'll need it.

Once upon a time.... alright, I don't subject you to that. I have always felt that we were meant to end up in this community. We felt it right from the start, well at least I did. The community is very welcoming, and right from the first day I went out people walked up and introduced themselves.

We have met some great people here in town, and now refer to them as our "extended family". This family live across the street from us, and Rob first met "P" at the store, as his daughter works for Rob. They got chatting, and we were invited to their son's 2nd birthday party for us wives and children to all meet. Honestly, at first I didn't think we had anything in common and we probably wouldn't get along. Well, I am soo happy to say I was completely wrong. "C" and "P" have a son 6 months younger than Joey, and the boys hit it off from the start. "C" would bring her son over to play with Joey, and our friendship began. It soon extnded to the members of their families, which on his side is very large (11 siblings) and 3 on hers. PLUS both of their parents.

They have had some very difficult times in their past, and as we got to know them they shared these with us. They shared with us the loss of their nephew to suicide 3 years ago, who I will call "B". Their nephew was a big part of their lives, and his suiside was a huge shock to their family. To say it rocked their foundation is an understatment. His mother who we all know well, is still troubled by the loss of her son.

I mention her now because from the time I met her, I've always felt a connection with her. I can't explain why, but the thought her torment with his death just breaks my heart. But she just lights up when she sees my Joey. You see, she has a son named Joe, who is in Colby's class.

But here is where it gets a little freaky.

Last May as you may remember, I put Joey's birthday's announcement on the scroll. While watching for it to come on, there was a "in memory" annoucement, which stopped me in my tracks. It was for her son "B". It had a beautiful picture of him (he was 17 when he died) and said "In memory of "B". Born November 4, 1981, Died May 11, 2006.

For those of you who are NOT freaking out right now, let me let you in on something. Colby's birthday is November 4th. JOEY'S birthday is May 11, 2006. Yeppers, she lost her son on the day mine was born.

Yes, a skeptic would say this is a coincidence, and maybe it is. But that's a HUGE coincidence, don't you think?

More artsy fartsy

I have had more than my fair share of drama in my life over the past few weeks and I have turned to my camera for some peace and tranquility, because frankly I need to give poor Rob's shoulders and ears a break. I am super pleased with how these pictures are turning out. Guess I just need to be super stressed out to take good quality pics!

Shutterbugging around town

Why we love living here

It's been super busy here in the Schwartz household over the last few weeks, but life is finally slowing down a bit. I have 2 weeks of pictures on my camera that I just uploaded tonight so I'll have new pictures to share. These were taken today. It was too nice to stay in so Rob brought out the quad. As you can see, both boys love it!

Yep, that's Colby driving!

The 3 most important people in my life.

The sign of a great Dad.

Power sliding, or at least trying to.

I love Joey's face in this one!

15 second jigging.AVI

Joey jigging

Living in a deep freeze

We have had a blast of cold, arctic air over the prairies that has been here all week. It has been -40C or close to it for the past 7-8 days. It's at the point it's almost ridiculous. This type of cold is dangerous, so we have all been huddled inside our houses trying to stay warm. I go through more fuel in the truck this time of year, as we need to warm it up a good 20-30 minutes before leaving. With temperatures this cold, there is always that fun feeling of driving on square tires, since the bottoms of the tires freeze and don't warm up enough to unflatten until I'm almost at work. Yes, I'm bitter (no pun intended). According to the weather network, we are suppose to warm up to -1C by the beginning of next week. Holy hannah that's a difference of almost 40 degrees. No wonder everyone is sick. How are you suppose to adjust to that type of drastic weather change?

Did I mention I'm turning 35 tomorrow? Holy crap when did I get old??

Our christmas in pictures

This ordiment is from my parents christmas tree. It was made for me and my brother when my brother was born.

Joey and his most prized possession.

My new ordiment from my mom. I think I'll hang it out all year.

Joey's first hand made ordiment from preschool. Yes, it says Pebbles.

One of the first ordiments Rob and I received as a couple. It was from Marylou and Mike and it's dated 1998.

The new ordiments I bought for the boys this year.

An ordiment from Rob's parents the year we got married.

A souviner from when we lived up North.

I bought these at a craft fair the year Colby was born.

The first ordiment Rob and I received as a couple. On the back it's dated 1997.

The first ordiment I received from Rob's side of the family. It was made my Rob's sister Nicole.

Colby's first ordiment from nursery school.

Our tree this year.

Our archway of cards.

The stockings that Kara made for us.

As 2009 ends and 2010 begins, I can't help but think how lucky we are. We have made a great life for ourselves here, and have some great friends that are almost like family. Although this holiday season has been tainted by the flu, we're still happy and for the most part healthy.

Happy 2010 to you all our blogger family. Here's hoping we get to meet a few of you in person this year!

Newish blog

Colby is back posting on his blog, and I would really appreciate if you all would leave him a comment or two. This was his idea to bring his blog back to life and I'm really trying to encourage him. You can find it at www.colbyofsaskatchewan.blogspot.com.

Playing on the ice

Could be a Ford Ad, don't ya think?

Colby on the ice Being silly. Colby wanted to take some pictures.

Skidoo whizzed by when we were playing.

Jumping on the ice.

We had to get out of the house today, to save my sanity. The ice roads are now all open, so I thought it would be fun to go take some pictures of the boys playing on the lake. I told them it would be fun to jump and try and break through, and of course being my kids, they started jumping!

Christmas at the Schwartz house

The rest of the Christmas pictures can be found HERE

For the first time in a long time, I can honestly say I'm uber glad Christmas is over. This honestly was one of the worst Christmas Days I can ever remember. It started out great enough. We were invited to friends house for Christmas eve dinner, and we had a great time. There were about 15 people there and it was very relaxed. The food was fantastic and good times were had by all. We drove around to look at Christmas lights and made it home in time for a webcam chat with Gramma and the girls. We made it to bed early and were looking forward to seeing the kid's excitment on Christmas morning.

Colby came in around 1:30 to tell me Joey was crying (they share a room). When I went in, Joey had puked in his bed. I cleaned him up, stripped his bed and brought him in bed with us. Then the puking continued. I'm sure we used all the towels in our house that night.

Colby came in around 7am, uber excited for Christmas. I didn't have the heart to stay in bed, even though we had just fallen asleep. I packed up a groggy Joey and moved to the couch. Santa had set up a treasure hunt for Colby's big gift (a Wii that was all plugged in) and I felt soo bad I couldn't follow him around as he looked for clues. Rob took pictures of him following his clues, and then as he opened his stocking and presents. We tried to get Joey to open his gifts, but he just didn't have the energy. We went back to bed and got up around 12. We managed to get some Gatorade into him and a few crackers, and he opened his presents and stocking. It's only been today that he has started eating. I will be taking more pictures over the next day or so of Joey with some of his gifts. His most treasured gifts right now are a mini daschund stuffed animal that he carries around, and a book that I found on Ebay called "Knight Rider: K.I.T.T Vanishes".

HO HO HO!!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

My hubby really is fantastic

I have been somewhat dissapointed with the town over the last month, but have been very careful not to say anything. This is our 2nd Christmas here, and I am the first to admit we are very comfortable here and have come to think of it as home. Every year the community has "Santa Anonymous", where every child in the community under a certain age (I'm thinking 6-7) receives a gift. Last year, the children went to see Santa for their gift. Well, this year the organizers of this event decided to hand the gifts out through the preschool (we had our own Santa) and the Elementary school (they also had a Santa dressed up). Albeit, neither Santa looked authentic (ours was our director, who is a woman) and the only children in the community who received a picture with Santa is our preschool, done by yours truly. I mentioned this in passing to Rob the other night, and he was really upset. He believes, as I do, that Christmas really is for the kids, and one of the biggest things about Christmas is getting your picture with Santa.

The Northwest Company (the parent company of the store Rob runs) provides each store with a Santa Suit, a portable printer and 3 packs of ink/paper for Santa Claus. This is something that is done for each store in the company. He has offered the use of both these items at no charge to the community, and did not receive a response. He has not done "Santa" in the store because this is always something that was done by the town. So, Santa is coming to the Northern today. We are bringing my Christmas backdrop and blocking off a corner of the store to take pictures of the kids. These pictures will be printed on the spot for parents to take home, and will be done free of charge (we are asking for a $2.00 donation to charity). The staff has really come together with this, and made 100 grab bags for the kids yesterday. Keep in mind, this conversation with Rob happened MONDAY night, and here it is Wednesday morning and we're ready to go. And the response from the town has been overwhelming. People are really excited about this, and more than a few adults have joked they are coming to sit on Santa's knee.

This is more than just a publicity stunt for his store. Yes, of course it will boost sales on the 2nd last day of shopping, and he is running some great last minute deals. But he's not doing it for that. He's doing it for the kids. Of course, there are kids in town that have had their picture taken with Santa when they have gone out of town with their parents. But there are many kids in this community who have never been out of town. He's doing it for them. It just shows how much we all love it here. I can feel roots settling. :)

my little bingo player

An occupational hazard of mine is to try and find ways to make learning fun for Joe. Well, I have found another one. We are working on numbers with Joe right now, and he's pretty good at it. BINGO is number recognition and matching. I'm going to have to go out and find bingo cards for him to play along with me!

I'm on vacation baby!!!

I'm now officially on vacation for the next two weeks. I love working as a teacher! I should now be back on track of updating the blog more often. Here's hoping. :)

Of course, I did the boys Christmas pics, and since they have been received by family members I'm free to post them for you all to see. If I do say so myself, I have some cute kids!

I've also been busy doing christmas pictures for people here in town. This is the granddaughter of my "Metis Mommy".

My silly little puppy. Last week it dipped as low as -54 with the windchill, so I crocheted her a jacket. I'm going to do it again in a better color but I needed a template to work from. As you can see, she wore it outside!

Joey, Sunny and Katie.

Gramma Jeannine has been anxiously waiting for me to post these pictures, so a little birdy told me!